We have previously commented on other posts what is the essence of Social Media. The ultimate goal, the main purpose, is the interaction, dialogue and humane treatment of each other. Although the foundation of Social Networks is the human condition of its users and the relationships between them, one of the main features of the human being is that man is mistaken. And more often than you would like.

In fact, only man is able to trip twice with the same stone, but, as Seneca said, “erratum humanum est”, the most complicated thing is to rectify.

Something that we should never forget, but that we almost never remember, is that in Social Media we relate to brands, but that behind brands there are people, and that nobody is perfect. No one is, therefore, exempt from being wrong.

Neither in Social Media

Generally, the professionals who are in charge of the helm of the social profiles of a brand or company are obliged to manage several accounts, and it is necessary to be very careful in what we post in each, taking into account that each client has an own identity and a different voice, so, if we err in this, the result can be disastrous for the brand we represent.

However, it would be very pretentious to say, and deluded, that we are such good professionals and good Community Managers that we never made a mistake, or that, if we have never done or said anything that we should not in Social Networks, we will never do it.

Once again: we are human and we are wrong. That is not bad if we are able to rectify or, at least, make our error less than it really is.

But what happens if we post something on a social network that we should not have posted? What if we make misplaced comments on behalf of the brand we represent or on our own?

Well, first of all, stay calm and think and act fast

If we have said something in inappropriate social networks and the audience reproaches us, which will be the most normal thing to happen, then the only thing that will remain is to assume the error, explain, as far as possible, why it happened and, if proceed, offer a public apology to all users, and, if there is one more affected, write a private response to that user.

There are cases in which brands that have made mistakes have apologized that they are not credible, or that they are not apologetic, and that is perceived by users as an unacceptable attitude, so, if we are going to apologize and explain what It has happened, let’s do it well.

We must be sincere and humble, we must not forget the importance of being called Honest, speaking to the audience in front, as it is spoken to a friend: “it is true, I was wrong, I am very sorry. It will not happen again. ” This is what the audience wants to hear.

We should never respond to a criticism with arrogance, saying something like “I know more than you and your opinion does not apply to me”, nor should we try to correct an error with an action to hide it and then we can create more problems.

Let’s analyze what happened, let’s see what are the options and which is the best, and act accordingly.

But, without a doubt, the worst mistake we can make Social Media professionals is not to learn from mistakes, without this learning, we are condemned to commit them again and again.

Assume the error honestly, try to minimize its impact, apologize. Errors are paid, but we can always try to make their price as low as possible.